Filling the Void

NBA 2016-2017: Week 8

We are now over two months into the NBA season and just days away from the unofficial start of the season. There are some great matchups on Christmas day but before we are forced to spend time with our family members based on outdated traditions and religion, let’s look back on week 8.

Tim Duncan

It’s weird watching the NBA without Timmy. The Spurs have continued rolling on without him, but on Sunday night they honored him during his jersey retirement ceremony. Pop told some stories about carrot cake while Tim acknowledged his public persona. It was a fun light hearted night and allowed the viewers to see a side of Tim and Pop that were are not accustomed to seeing. I will forever miss Tim and his perfect bank shot.

Sportsman of the year

LeBron is one Sports Illustrated cover closer to having more cover issues than his idol Michael Jordan. For those of you who are under the age of 30, sports illustrated is a sports magazine and a magazine is a physical glossy ad filled pamphlet that covers week old sports stories.

This sports magazine is still in circulation as there are still a few baby boomers left who are into sports but refuse to buy a computer or smart phone. They award a person every year with their sportsman of the year honor and this year they gave it to LeBron James. They claim he received the award because he brought a title to Cleveland but we all know it is because they want to keep him happy and preserve their unique limited access they have of him.

Cavaliers

The Cavs had a rough streak a few weeks ago, but the responded with a 5 game win streak. That win streak was ended in a loss to the Grizzles on Wednesday night because LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving didn’t even travel with the team to Memphis. This of course freaked everyone out as it was obvious the Cavs saw the scheduled loss on the schedule (4 games in 5 nights) and decided to give their best players some rest and not even try to win the game. I am completely fine with this strategy, resting players and keeping them fresh throughout the season is smart. If Mr. Local radio really wanted to fix this resting players issue, he should complain about 4 games in 5 nights, not that his little white son didn’t get to see his favorite player during a mid-December game. Oh and Kevin Love is great again.

Big Comeback

One of my favorite things in sports is a massive comeback victory. It gives hope to losers like myself that I can recover from a shitty start. After being down by 21 points against the Bulls, the Timberwolves fought back and won the game by 5 points. The Timberwolves were down 26-6 to start the game and were down 49 – 28 in the second quarter. The farthest the Wolves were down was 51 – 30 but they had a great run going into half time and finished the second quarter strong winning 99 – 94. Minnesota has disappointing this season as many experts through the addition of Thibodeau as head coach would take the young talent to the playoffs. Maybe this comeback victory will help turn their season around.

Rockets

The Rockets are good? It appears that they are a third of the way into the season, and much of their success can be attributed to their ability to make 3’s. On Friday in a game against the Pelicans, the Rockets broke several 3 point shooting records. They now hold the record for most 3 point shots made (24), attempted in a half (31), and attempted in a game (61). Houston has been better under the coaching of Mike D’Antoni and James Harden has reemerged as an MVP candidate racking up assists to go with his scoring.

Russell Westbrook Triple Double Update

On Saturday in a win against the Suns, Westbrook put of the unbelievable stat line of 26 points, 22 assists, and 11 rebounds. He is still averaging a triple double (30.9 points, 10.9 assists, 10.5 rebounds) going into the Christmas weekend. Averaging a triple double with 31 points per game is just insane. How is he doing this?

Other Stuff

Many players (including LeBron James) are refusing to stay at Trump branded hotels, DaMarcus cousins has been rumored to be in a trade to the Celtics, Hassan Whiteside has put up his fourth 20/20 game of the season, and an old man who was famous solely for wearing ugly suits died of cancer.